Reflow soldering processes produce a solder connection of surface mountable components to connection regions of a printed circuit board. These surface mountable components are referred to as SMD components. A reflow soldering process includes four steps. First, solder paste is provided on solder surfaces of the printed circuit board. The solder paste forms the connection regions. A screen-printing process is employed to provide the solder paste on the solder surfaces. Second, the SMD circuit components are then pressed with their connections into the solder paste of the corresponding solder surface. An automatic placement machine presses the SMD components into the solder paste.
Third, the assembled printed circuit board then passes through a temperature profile in a reflow soldering installation. Temperature profile components of the solder paste undergo gas-phase stripping before a flux agent contained therein is activated. Fourth, the solder metal contained in the solder paste is melted. Consequently, the solder connection is produced.
Throughout the process of assembling the printed circuit board until the solder connection sets, the SMD components are held in their position only by the adhesive strength of the solder paste. This is possible because the SMD components are generally relatively small and light. The SMD components further have at least two connection contacts.
However, it is often necessary to provide intersection points for subsequent connection of the printed circuit board to other devices. These intersection points take the form of plug connectors. If plug contact elements are used for plug connectors they must be mounted with their longitudinal axis parallel to the surface of the printed circuit board. The sole contact points, i.e., single solder paste attachments, on the printed circuit board on which respective plug connectors are mounted to cannot adequately hold the plug connectors in the desired position. In particular, round plug contact elements are typically in the form of solid turned parts having an elongate cylindrical form and a relatively large mass. A problem is that because of shaking to which the printed circuit board is typically subjected to during the course of processing, forces and turning moments arise which far exceed the holding force applied by the single solder paste attachment.